Up, up and away ... Aussie actor signs on to play Superboy
Aussie scores Super role
Is it something we're putting in the water? Australian actor Joshua Orpin has been signed to play Superboy in the US drama Titans. The series, produced by Warner Bros and set in the DC Universe, focuses on the so-called Teen Titans, including Batman sidekick Robin, played by another Australian, Brenton Thwaites. The character was, in earlier comics, simply Superman during his teen-aged years, however in recent comic book series the character was "retconned" to be a hybrid cloned from Superman himself, who uses the alias Conner Kent, and poses as a cousin of Superman's alter-ego Clark Kent. The series airs in Australia; the second season will launch later this year.
Buttrose to lead ABC
Media identity Ita Buttrose has been named as chairwoman of the national broadcaster. Buttrose, 77, has been a prominent figure in Australian media for decades, launching the magazine Cleo in the 1970s and serving as editor-in-chief of the daily and Sunday Telegraphs in the 1980s. Most recently she has been a regular on the Ten morning panel show Studio 10. "I'm a passionate believer in the independence of the ABC and I will do everything in my power to make sure it remains that way," she said. Buttrose will be the second woman to lead the ABC in history after Dame Leonie Kramer in the early 1980s.
Snow lands lead
Pitch Perfect actor Brittany Snow has been cast in the lead role of the US adaptation of the Ten Network drama Sisters. The original series was created by Imogen Banks and Jonathan Gavin and told the story of a woman whose father, a pioneering fertility doctor, reveals he used his own sperm to father a number of children in the course of his work. His only child, Julia, is then left to track down her siblings, and discovers two sisters. Interest in the concept was "very competitive", according to the US trade publication Deadline. The US adaptation is being produced for Fox by Endemol Shine North America.
Reboot for 90210 cast
The 1990s high school drama Beverly Hills 90210 has been exhumed for a reboot, with a twist. Unlike the earlier reboot, which was a do-over with a new cast and the leaner title of 90210, this is technically a sequel, but set in the real world. A six-part "event series" has been commissioned by Fox that will be scripted but focused on the original actors of the series, playing "heightened versions" of themselves, working on a proposed reboot of the show. Think of it as Meta Is The New Black meets mockumentary. Original cast members Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, Brian Austin Green and Tori Spelling have confirmed their involvement.
Liotta joins Sopranos prequel
In a crisp casting move, The Sopranos prequel, The Many Saints of Newark, has signed up Ray Liotta, one of the stars of the much-loved mobster movie Goodfellas. The series, which is set during the 1970s Newark riots, will serve as a prequel to The Sopranos and introduce a young Tony Soprano, played by the late James Gandolfini's real-life son Michael. (Gandolfini played Soprano in the original series.) The series will also star Jon Bernthal, Vera Farmiga, Corey Stoll and Billy Magnussen. The new series is written and produced by The Sopranos creator David Chase and will be directed by Alan Taylor, who worked on the original series.
Star Trek's new territory
The US streaming platform CBS All Access has confirmed there will be a third season of its science fiction hit Star Trek: Discovery. The platform is ramping up its Star Trek-themed content, with a number of projects being readied to launch in 2019 and 2020, including a series that will pick up the story of The Next Generation's Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) after his retirement from Starfleet. An animated Star Trek series is also in development. The show's second season, which introduced original series characters such as Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and Mr Spock (Ethan Peck) is drawing rave reviews. The series airs in Australia on Netflix.